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At least 19 recordsLinked to original sources

Stabilizing the boundary between US politics and science: the role of the Office of Technology Transfer as a boundary organization.

The sociological study of boundary-work and the political-ecomomic approach of principal-agent theory can be complementary ways of examining the relationship between society and science: boundary-work provides the empirical nuance to the principal-agent scheme, and principal-agent theory provides structure to the thick boundary description. This paper motivates this complementarity to examine domestic technology transfer in the USA from the intramural laboratories of the US National Institutes of Health (NIH). It casts US policy for technology transfer in the principal-agent framework, in which politicians attempt to manage the moral hazard of the productivity of research by providing specific incentives to the agents for engaging in measurable research-based innovation. Such incentives alter the previously negotiated boundary between politics and science. The paper identifies the crucial role of the NIH Office of Technology Transfer (OTT) as a boundary organization, which medicates the new boundary negotiations in its routine work, and stabilizes the boundary by performing successfully as an agent for both politicians and scientists. The paper hypothesizes that boundary organizations like OTT are general phenomena at the boundary between politics and science.

Biotechnology↗

CUPULIFORMIS establishes lateral organ boundaries in Antirrhinum.

Cupuliformis mutants are defective in shoot apical meristem formation, but cup plants overcome this early barrier to development to reach maturity. CUP encodes a NAC-domain transcription factor, homologous to the Petunia NAM and Arabidopsis CUC proteins. The phenotype of cup mutants differs from those of nam and cuc1 cuc2 in that dramatic organ fusion is observed throughout development. In addition to cotyledon and floral organ fusions, severe lateral organ fusion is found in leaves and inflorescences, and the apical meristem becomes highly fasciated. These features reveal a role for CUP in the establishment of all above ground organ boundaries. Consistent with this function, CUP is expressed at the boundaries of all lateral organs and meristems. It is not currently known how NAC-domain genes act to establish organ boundaries. Here, we show that CUP directly interacts with a TCP-domain transcription factor. Members of the TCP-domain family have previously been shown to regulate organ outgrowth. Our results suggest a model for the establishment of organ boundaries based on the localised expression of NAC-domain and TCP-domain factors.

Antirrhinum↗

Clonally related cells are restricted to organ boundaries early in the development of the chicken gut to form compartment boundaries.

The gut organs are all derived from a simple, undifferentiated, linear gut tube. We analyzed the lineage relationships of cells derived from this gut tube in chicken embryos, determining where the progeny of a single cell are located within the gut. We find that daughter cells derived from a single progenitor can populate both the gizzard (chicken stomach) and the small intestine early in development, but that clonally related cells are restricted to a single organ by stage 12. We also find that clonally related cells can populate different mesodermal layers within the radial axis of the gut throughout all of the stages tested in these experiments. Many genes that have organ-specific expression patterns within the gut have been isolated. The onset of these restricted expression patterns correlates with the time that clonal boundaries appear to form, suggesting that these genes might be involved in the establishment of compartment boundaries, which prevent cells on one side of the boundary from intermingling with cells on the other side of the boundary.

Animals↗

Arabidopsis CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON3 regulates postembryonic shoot meristem and organ boundary formation.

Overall shoot architecture in higher plants is highly dependent on the activity of embryonic and axillary shoot meristems, which are produced from the basal adaxial boundaries of cotyledons and leaves, respectively. In Arabidopsis thaliana, redundant functions of the CUP-SHAPED COTYLEDON genes CUC1, CUC2, and CUC3 regulate embryonic shoot meristem formation and cotyledon boundary specification. Their functional importance and relationship in postembryonic development, however, is poorly understood. Here, we performed extensive analyses of the embryonic and postembryonic functions of the three CUC genes using multiple combinations of newly isolated mutant alleles. We found significant roles of CUC2 and CUC3, but not CUC1, in axillary meristem formation and boundary specification of various postembryonic shoot organs, such as leaves, stems, and pedicels. In embryogenesis, all three genes make significant contributions, although CUC3 appears to possess, at least partially, a distinct function from that of CUC1 and CUC2. The function of CUC3 and CUC2 overlaps that of LATERAL SUPPRESSOR, which was previously shown to be required for axillary meristem formation. Our results reveal that redundant but partially distinct functions of CUC1, CUC2, and CUC3 are responsible for shoot organ boundary and meristem formation throughout the life cycle in Arabidopsis.

Alleles↗

The lateral organ boundaries gene defines a novel, plant-specific gene family.

The LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES (LOB) gene in Arabidopsis defines a new conserved protein domain. LOB is expressed in a band of cells at the adaxial base of all lateral organs formed from the shoot apical meristem and at the base of lateral roots. LOB encodes a predicted protein that does not have recognizable functional motifs, but that contains a conserved domain (the LOB domain) that is present in 42 other Arabidopsis proteins and in proteins from a variety of other plant species. Proteins showing similarity to the LOB domain were not found outside of plant databases, indicating that this unique protein may play a role in plant-specific processes. Genes encoding LOB domain proteins are expressed in a variety of temporal- and tissue-specific patterns, suggesting that they may function in diverse processes. Loss-of-function LOB mutants have no detectable phenotype under standard growth conditions, suggesting that LOB is functionally redundant or required during growth under specific environmental conditions. Ectopic expression of LOB leads to alterations in the size and shape of leaves and floral organs and causes male and female sterility. The expression of LOB at the base of lateral organs suggests a potential role for LOB in lateral organ development.

Alternative Splicing↗

Comparison and evolution analysis of two rice subspecies LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES domain gene family and their evolutionary characterization from Arabidopsis.

The plant specific LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES (LOB) domain (LBD) gene family has a potential role in lateral organ development. Thirty-five LBD genes in a japonica rice (Nipponbare) (designated OsJLBD) and in an indica rice (9311) (designated OsILBD) were identified based on the current databases of the two rice subspecies. A new rice LBD gene with two LOB domains and two predicted coiled coil structures in both subspecies was found, which is not found in other plant species based on the current NCBI Genbank database. OsJLBD and OsILBD genes have similar chromosomal distribution pattern. Both OsJLBD and OsILBD genes can be divided into 7 subclasses (classes Ia-e, II and III (see )) and no subclass-specific expression pattern was observed. No introns have been predicted in all class Ie genes in both OsJLBD and OsILBD subfamilies. The genome and tandem duplication has contributed to the neofunctionalization and formation of new rice subclasses, but the mechanism of diploidization and limited tandem duplication have contributed to fewer LBD genes in rice than in Arabidopsis. Functional studies of genes in subclasses may help to determine whether special sequence structure (intron-exon, spacing characters of motifs) has caused special expression pattern of subclasses.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

spiel ohne grenzen/pou2 is required during establishment of the zebrafish midbrain-hindbrain boundary organizer.

The vertebrate midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB) organizes patterning and neuronal differentiation in the midbrain and anterior hindbrain. Formation of this organizing center involves multiple steps, including positioning of the MHB within the neural plate, establishment of the organizer and maintenance of its regional identity and signaling activities. Juxtaposition of the Otx2 and Gbx2 expression domains positions the MHB. How the positional information is translated into activation of Pax2, Wnt1 and Fgf8 expression during MHB establishment remains unclear. In zebrafish spiel ohne grenzen (spg) mutants, the MHB is not established, neither isthmus nor cerebellum form, the midbrain is reduced in size and patterning abnormalities develop within the hindbrain. In spg mutants, despite apparently normal expression of otx2, gbx1 and fgf8 during late gastrula stages, the initial expression of pax2.1, wnt1 and eng2, as well as later expression of fgf8 in the MHB primordium are reduced. We show that spg mutants have lesions in pou2, which encodes a POU-domain transcription factor. Maternal pou2 transcripts are distributed evenly in the blastula, and zygotic expression domains include the midbrain and hindbrain primordia during late gastrulation. Microinjection of pou2 mRNA can rescue pax2.1 and wnt1 expression in the MHB of spg/pou2 mutants without inducing ectopic expression. This indicates an essential but permissive role for pou2 during MHB establishment. pou2 is expressed normally in noi/pax2.1 and ace/fgf8 zebrafish mutants, which also form no MHB. Thus, expression of pou2 does not depend on fgf8 and pax2.1. Our data suggest that pou2 is required for the establishment of the normal expression domains of wnt1 and pax2.1 in the MHB primordium.

Animals↗

Morphogenesis and patterning at the organ boundaries in the higher plant shoot apex.

Formation of lateral organ primordia from the shoot apical meristem creates boundaries that separate the primordium from surrounding tissue. Morphological and gene expression studies indicate the presence of a distinct set of cells that define the boundaries in the plant shoot apex. Cells at the boundary usually display reduced growth activity that results in separation of adjacent organs or tissues and this morphological boundary coincides with the border of different cell identities. Such morphogenetic and patterning events and their spatial coordination are controlled by a number of boundary-specific regulatory genes. The boundary may also act as a reference point for the generation of new meristems such as axillary meristems. Many of the genes involved in meristem initiation are expressed in the boundary. This review summarizes the cellular characters of the shoot organ boundary and the roles of regulatory genes that control different aspects of this unique region in plant development.

Arabidopsis↗

Genetic control of shoot organ boundaries.

The initiation of plant lateral organs from the shoot meristem is associated with the formation of boundaries that separate the primordia from surrounding tissue. A distinctive set of cells is present along the boundary, and these 'boundary cells' display characteristic patterns of cell division, morphology and gene expression. A certain class of the NAC transcription factors is important for growth suppression at the boundary, and auxin and microRNAs participate in boundary formation by regulating NAC gene expression. Other factors regulate different aspects of boundary functions, such as the establishment of the border of different cell identities, the initiation of axillary meristems, or the proper development of organs and tissues in adjacent regions.

Gene Expression Regulation, Plant↗

ramosa2 encodes a LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARY domain protein that determines the fate of stem cells in branch meristems of maize.

Genetic control of grass inflorescence architecture is critical given that cereal seeds provide most of the world's food. Seeds are borne on axillary branches, which arise from groups of stem cells in axils of leaves and whose branching patterns dictate most of the variation in plant form. Normal maize (Zea mays) ears are unbranched, and tassels have long branches only at their base. The ramosa2 (ra2) mutant of maize has increased branching with short branches replaced by long, indeterminate ones. ra2 was cloned by chromosome walking and shown to encode a LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARY domain transcription factor. ra2 is transiently expressed in a group of cells that predicts the position of axillary meristem formation in inflorescences. Expression in different mutant backgrounds places ra2 upstream of other genes that regulate branch formation. The early expression of ra2 suggests that it functions in the patterning of stem cells in axillary meristems. Alignment of ra2-like sequences reveals a grass-specific domain in the C terminus that is not found in Arabidopsis thaliana. The ra2-dm allele suggests this domain is required for transcriptional activation of ra1. The ra2 expression pattern is conserved in rice (Oryza sativa), barley (Hordeum vulgare), sorghum (Sorghum bicolor), and maize, suggesting that ra2 is critical for shaping the initial steps of grass inflorescence architecture.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

The midbrain--hindbrain boundary organizer.

Cell fate in the cephalic neural primordium is controlled by an organizer located at the midbrain-hindbrain boundary. Studies in chick, mouse and zebrafish converge to show that mutually repressive interactions between homeodomain transcription factors of the Otx and Gbx class position this organizer in the neural primordium. Once positioned, independent signaling pathways converge in their activity to drive organizer function. Fibroblast growth factors secreted from the organizer are necessary for, and sufficient to mimic, organizer activity in patterning the midbrain and anterior hindbrain, and are tightly controlled by feedback inhibition.

Animals↗

Positioning of the midbrain-hindbrain boundary organizer through global posteriorization of the neuroectoderm mediated by Wnt8 signaling.

The organizing center located at the midbrain-hindbrain boundary (MHB) patterns the midbrain and hindbrain primordia of the neural plate. Studies in several vertebrates showed that the interface between cells expressing Otx and Gbx transcription factors marks the location in the neural plate where the organizer forms, but it is unclear how this location is set up. Using mutant analyses and shield ablation experiments in zebrafish, we find that axial mesendoderm, as a candidate tissue, has only a minor role in positioning the MHB. Instead, the blastoderm margin of the gastrula embryo acts as a source of signal(s) involved in this process. We demonstrate that positioning of the MHB organizer is tightly linked to overall neuroectodermal posteriorization, and specifically depends on Wnt8 signaling emanating from lateral mesendodermal precursors. Wnt8 is required for the initial subdivision of the neuroectoderm, including onset of posterior gbx1 expression and establishment of the posterior border of otx2 expression. Cell transplantation experiments further show that Wnt8 signaling acts directly and non-cell-autonomously. Consistent with these findings, a GFP-Wnt8 fusion protein travels from donor cells through early neural plate tissue. Our findings argue that graded Wnt8 activity mediates overall neuroectodermal posteriorization and thus determines the location of the MHB organizer.

Animals↗

Pseudo-organ boundary conditions applied to a computational fluid dynamics model of the human aorta.

In three-dimensional numerical studies of the aorta, it is difficult to apply proper boundary conditions at the end of each major aortic branch because of interactions between blood and organs. Organs and body parts were assumed to be likened to cylindrically shaped porous media, so-called pseudo-organs, and treated in the computational domain as forms of hemodynamic resistance. Permeability functions were determined from two-dimensional axisymmetric computations of each aortic branch and these functions were then used in an unsteady three-dimensional simulation of the complete aorta. Substantially accurate cardiac output (5.91 L/min) and blood distributions to the major branches were predicted.

Aorta↗

The Arabidopsis LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES-domain gene ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 functions in the repression of KNOX gene expression and in adaxial-abaxial patterning.

The normal development of lateral organs of the shoot requires the simultaneous repression of meristem-specific genes and the activation of organ-specific genes. ASYMMETRIC LEAVES2 (AS2) is required for the development of normal leaf shape and for the repression of KNOX genes in the leaf. AS2 is a member of the recently identified, plant-specific LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES (LOB)-domain gene family. Expression of AS2 at high levels resulted in repression of the KNOX homeobox genes BREVIPEDICELLUS, KNAT2, and KNAT6 but not of the related SHOOT MERISTEMLESS gene. Overexpression of AS2 also led to a perturbation of normal adaxial-abaxial asymmetry in lateral organs, resulting in the replacement of abaxial cell types with adaxial cell types. These results indicate that AS2 is sufficient to induce adaxial cell fate and repress KNOX gene expression.

Arabidopsis↗

Isolation and expression patterns of LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES-like genes in Lotus japonicus.

A shoot apical meristem (SAM) is composed of several distinct domains and lateral organs are initiated at the peripheral zone during plant development. Establishment and maintenance of boundary between SAM and lateral organs is an important developmental process, in which many regulators are involved. LATERAL ORGAN BOUNDARIES (LOB) in Arabidopsis, displaying a specific expression pattern corresponding to the boundary of developmental lateral organs, belongs to a large gene family--LOB domain gene family, which encode proteins with a conserved LOB domain at the N-terminus. Beside LOB, other members of this gene family are also involved in divergent developmental processes in Arabidopsis. To investigate the functions of LOB-like genes in the distantly related legumes, we isolated LjLOBs from a model legume plant Lotus japonicus, and conducted RNA in situ hybridization to investigate their expression patterns. It was found that LjLOB1 and LjLOB3 were strongly expressed at the bases of leaflet primordia, which coincided with the boundaries between leaflet primordia and compound leaf meristem, while LjLOB4 was expressed at the boundaries between whorls in the developing floral bud. The different special expression patterns of LjLOBs strongly suggest that their functions in L. japonicus may be divergent: LjLOB1 and LjLOB3 could play important roles in the control of compound leaf development, and LjLOB4 may be required during floral development.

Amino Acid Sequence↗

A review of pollutants in the sea-surface microlayer (SML): a unique habitat for marine organisms.

Boundary layers between different environmental compartments represent critical interfaces for biological, chemical and physical processes. The sea-surface microlayer (uppermost 1-1000 microm layer) forms the boundary layer interface between the atmosphere and ocean. Environmental processes are controlled by the SML, and it is known to play a key role in the global distribution of anthropogenic pollutants. Due to its unique chemical composition, the upper organic film of the SML represents both a sink and a source for a range of pollutants including chlorinated hydrocarbons, organotin compounds, petroleum hydrocarbons, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PAH) and heavy metals. These pollutants can be enriched in the SML by up to 500 times relative to concentrations occurring in the underlying bulk water column. The SML is also a unique ecosystem, serving as an important habitat for fish eggs and larvae. Concentration ranges and enrichment factors of pollutants in the SML in different areas of the world's oceans have been critically reviewed, together with available toxicity data for marine biota found within the SML. Overall, the SML is highly contaminated in many urban and industrialized areas of the world, resulting in severe ecotoxicological impacts. Such impacts may lead to drastic effects on the marine food web and to fishery recruitment in coastal waters. Studies of the toxicity of fish eggs and larvae exposed to the SML contaminants have shown that the SML in polluted areas leads to significantly higher rates of mortality and abnormality of fish embryos and larvae.

Animals↗